Family: Garber's death 'senseless'

LEXINGTON – The family of the 28-year-old Lexington man fatally shot over the weekend after claiming he had a gun called the death senseless Tuesday.

Brian Garber's wife, Sara Knowlton, and mother, Connie Garber, told the News Journal on Tuesday that they believed Garber was unarmed Sunday when he was shot and killed by an unnamed officer with the Richland County Sheriff's Department.

"He was a wonderful father, wonderful husband, wonderful friend," Knowlton said. "It was a senseless tragedy that was preventable. He did not deserve to die that way."

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which took over the case, has not released any details about the shooting at 3400 Mill Run Road. Spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said the office does not comment on open cases to preserve the sanctity of the investigation.

While Knowlton and Connie Garber declined to talk specifically about how events transpired that night, they described the incident was a "misunderstanding that ended tragically."

Knowlton said that despite the number of domestic violence calls to their 3425 Mill Run Road home — sheriff's records show deputies were called to the home four times in three years in reference to domestic violence complaints — Garber never hurt her. Sunday's first call to 911 about an hour before the fatal shooting was a product of the medication he was taking, she said.

"He did not beat me. I've never had to get help or go to the hospital from him," Knowlton said. "My husband was a wonderful person. He took care of his family."

A troubled past

Knowlton said a lot of the family's issues stemmed from the death of their 6-month-old daughter two years ago. Sudden infant death syndrome took the child in 2012. After that, Brian had a hard time coping, she said.

At the time, Garber turned to the depression drug citalopram, but didn't take it for very long, Connie Garber said. But when he started having depression problems again last week, he resumed taking the drug, and it had "adverse side effects," she said.

"The medication just made him worse," his mom said, indicating that it made him aggressive.

Suicidal thoughts and manic episodes are listed as potential side effects of citalopram medications, such as Celexa, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Brian Garber's aggression led the two to call authorities earlier in the evening, claiming Garber had tried to strangle Knowlton and had struck his mother several times in the chest and arm. In a nine-minute 911 recording, Connie Garber shouts: "Get the cops here now. ... My son is going nuts on me."

Both were prepared to sign domestic violence charges against him at the time, according to a sheriff's report, but Garber had disappeared.

Tuesday, Connie Garber said most of the commotion actually centered around them trying to calm the kids and make sure they weren't harmed, not Garber's violence.

"We were concerned, yes," Connie Garber said. "We didn't know what else to do. We thought the sheriff's department would help him, not destroy him."

"He was an amazing son. Very intelligent," Connie Garber said, noting Garber graduated from DeVry University with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked at Oops, a cellphone repair shop at Richland Mall, she said.

Garber's body was taken to Summit County for an autopsy. Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.

He leaves behind his wife and two children, 1 and 4.

"I want people to know he was a kind and loving man," Connie Garber said. "His death was so senseless; it should have never happened."

"He loved his children and would spend every minute with them when he wasn't working," Connie Garber said. "Now they've lost him forever."

Investigation continues

Knowlton and Connie Garber on Tuesday said Garber did not have a gun at the time he was shot and killed.

During Knowlton's 911 call Sunday, she told a dispatcher that Garber had a gun and was at his parent's house. Garber also sent several threatening text messages to Knowlton's phone saying he had a gun and had shown it to his parents.

Garber's father, Matthew Garber, later gave a written statement to the sheriff's office saying his son had shown him a gun through his T-shirt.

Shortly after deputies entered the home, Garber was shot and killed. None of the recent reports turned over to the News Journal indicate whether Garber showed a gun to deputies.

At the time, the sheriff's office also reported that one of the officers "may have been injured," during the incident but would not elaborate further. Del Greco confirmed Tuesday that no officers were injured.

Four officers involved were placed on an eight-day paid administrative leave, per sheriff's office policy, but the department has not confirmed the identities of those four deputies.

Sheriff's officers Sgt. James Nicholson and Lt. Donald Zehner and deputies Jeff Frazier, Andrew Knee and James Berry responded to the scene, according to the report. Berry reportedly was stationed outside the home, while the rest of the deputies entered the residence, the report said.

It could be a while before information about the circumstances surrounding the shooting is released. Once BCI finishes its investigation, the agency must turn over the findings to the Richland County Prosecutor's Office for review, Del Greco explained.

Whether or not the prosecutor files charges will determine when the information will be released to the public, she said.

Del Greco said it's not uncommon for departments to request BCI take over an investigation in the event of an officer-involved shooting. Sheriff's Maj. Joe Masi agreed, saying the move is a part of the department's use-of-force policy.

"BCI was contacted so an independent law enforcement agency could conduct the investigation so there would be no controversy about the integrity of the investigation," Masi said.